Embraer has frozen the configuration of its KC-390 tanker/transport and plans to begin the joint definition phase in May, after the Brazilian air force - which is paying for development - has made the final decisions on the major suppliers.

Photos and graphics: Embraer

Myself, Steve Trimble of Flightglobal and John Reed of military.com got a chance on Feb. 22 to look over the full-scale cabin mockup in Hangar X-30 at the air force's CTA (Comando-Geral de Technologia Aerospacial), adjacent to Embraer's plant in Sao Jose do Campos.

The KC-390 is a big aircraft; the biggest Embaer has designed and bigger than the aircraft it is being developed to compete against - Lockheed Martin's C-130J. The cargo compartment is 17.75m long, compared with 16.9m for the stretched C-130J-30; 3.45m wide (vs 3.12m); 2.9m high forward of the wing (vs 2.74m) and 3.2m aft of the wing to make it easier to load/unload vehicles via the ramp.

One unusual feature of the mockup which we could not understand and for which I don't yet have a full explanation - a movable pressure bulkhead that retracts garage door-style into the roof and descends to seal the cargo cabin. When down, this sloping bulkhead reduces compartment length to 12.78m at the ceiling. We couldn't think of another airlifter with this feature.

The KC-390's design has changed significantly since 2007, when Embraer first revealed its studies of a military airlifter, then called the C-390, based heavily on its Embraer 190 regional airliner. At that point, using the wings, tail, engines and avionics of the E-190, the aircraft had a design payload of 19 tonnes.

C-390 (left) vs KC-390

Today, the KC-390 is an all-new aircraft with a design maximum payload of 23t, comfortably exceeding the C-130J's 21.8t. Range is 2,600nm with a 14.7t payload, 2,000nm with the 19t required by the Brazilian air force, and 1,400nm with the full 23t. Maximum cruise is Mach 0.8 and altitude 36,000ft.

Recent changes to the design have included increasing wing span in response to customer requests that the KC-390 be able to refuel helicopters, as well as fighters. This requires the ability to refuel at speeds down to 120kt and altitudes below 10,000ft. Wing span is now 35.06m.

As a tanker, the KC-390 has two underwing hose-and-drogue pods and a refueling probe (or receptacle). Some potential customers want to equip the aircraft with a refueling boom. Embraer is looking at a removable boom that could be mounted on the ramp, but hasn't settled on a workable design yet.

The KC-390 is scheduled to fly in mid-2014 and enter service with the Brazilian air force in 2016, and Embraer says the program is on track. It's hard not to walk around the mockup and think about the challenge Embraer has taken on developing an aircraft of this size and capability - but the company says it's aware where the risks are and has taken steps to invest early in reducing them.

mbraer has confirmed plans to launch a stretch version of the KC-390 for the civil cargo market that company officials predict will generate between 200-250 orders over a 10-year period starting in 2018.

The Brazilian manufacturer revealed the plan at the Paris Air Show only a day after Kawasaki announced ongoing studies to convert a baseline C-2 military transport into a commercial freighter.

The KC-390 is being developed for $1.3 billion by the Brazilian Air Force to receive military certification in 2016. A stretched model could be available as early as 2018 for the commercial transport market, which includes Brazil's Correios postal service - the original launch customer for an earlier version of the KC-390.

The civil version would have to be modified with two plugs added to the 33.91m (111.3ft) length of the KC-390's fuselage, Orlando Neto, vice president of sales for Embraer Defence and Security, said in an interview.

One plug would be added forward of the wing to accommodate a side door for cargo. Another plug would be inserted into the fuselage aft of the wing to create more internal space, Neto said.

The existing wings and engines of the KC-390 are sized to accommodate the stretched version for the cargo market, he added. The KC-390 also features an avionics system - the Rockwell Collins ProLine Fusion - design to receive Part 25 civil certification in 2015.

Embraer's commercial plans for the KC-390 over-shadowed the lack of further announcements about the airlifter's supply chain.

Despite recently entering a year-long joint definition phase, Embraer has yet to finalise agreements with the engine supplier for the KC-390. Both the CFM International CFM56 and the International Aero Engines V2500 have been considered for the order.

Neto confirmed that discussions are concluded between the company and the Brazilian air force over the engine supplier. The discussions are now between the company and the suppliers, although declined to clarify if one of the companies had already been ruled out

But the discussions are also not expected to drag on indefinitely. Neto added that Embraer has a firm schedule for completing the negotiations, and a contract award is possible within a few weeks.

AE said consortium members Pratt &Whitney, Rolls-Royce, Japan Aero Engine and MTU have already started engineering work on the V2500-E5 version for the KC-390. Deliveries are due in 2013 for the prototype aircraft, which is scheduled to fly the following year, with production engines to follow in 2015.An IAE spokesman told AIN that the -E5 version is rated at 29,000 pounds of thrust and features new software with new thrust tables and communication protocols. But there are no planned changes to the V2500’s turbomachinery or nacelle and thrust reverser, and the existing gearbox meets the KC-390 power offtake requirement, he added.

Embraer remains on schedule to complete the joint definition phase and freeze the design of its KC-390 transport in mid-2012, company executives said on 8 August.The Brazilian manufacturer had previously frozen the configuration of the KC-390, but certain decisions on key design details must still be worked out with major suppliers over the next year, said Orlando Neto, vice president of sales for Embraer Defense and Security.Embraer does not anticipate major design changes during the year-long process.The first KC-390 prototype is scheduled to complete its debut flight within three years, in 2014.The KC-390 supply chain became fixed in late July, with the selection of US-based International Aero Engines to provide its V2500-E5 turbofans.

Embraer also confirmed the KC-390 will join the ranks of so-called "more electric" aircraft, with conventional hydraulics replaced by a full authority digital fly-by-wire control system made by BAE Systems, and electro-hydrostatic actuators supplied by US firm Goodrich.That completes a supply chain that heavily leverages commercial technology, including Rockwell Collins ProLine Fusion avionics.Brazil's air force launched the programme in April 2009, then in July 2010 committed to buy 28 of the twin-jet tanker/transports.Embraer also received commitments to buy 32 more KC-390s from five more countries: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic and Portugal.The company does not intend to add new orders for the KC-390 during the joint definition phase. When the aircraft design is fixed after mid-2012, additional customers will be pursued in 2013, Neto added.Next year, Embraer will start building a final assembly hangar at its military aircraft production centre in Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil.The KC-390 is being designed to carry a 23 tonne cargo load.It is aimed initially at replacing turboprop-powered Lockheed Martin C-130s. In the long-term, however, Embraer also projects a need for a commercial freighter variant to launch after 2018.The stretched commercial version, which retains the same wings and engines of the military variant, could attract as many as 250 orders over a 10-year period, Embraer said.

This morning Embraer made an interesting announcement, “The Brazilian company AEL Sistemas, based in Porto Alegre, was selected by Embraer Defense and Security to supply three more components to the KC-390 military airlifter and tanker jet: the Self-Protection System (SPS); the Directed Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM); and the Head-Up Display (HUD).”

AEL was selected by Embraer, last September, to supply the new plane’s mission computers. AEL is the Brazilian subsidiary of Israel’s highly respected Elbit Systems. A browse through the firm’s website confirms the KC-390 will have state of art electronic systems.

“The KC-390 is being designed to operate all over the world, in different scenarios, with the same outstanding performance,” said Eduardo Bonini Santos Pinto, Vice President Operations & COO, Embraer Defense and Security. “The selection of the main suppliers is of utmost relevance for us to achieve our commitment with the Brazilian Air Force of placing the KC-390 at the highest technology standard, as a unique aircraft that will add much value for Brazil.”

With Elbit in Embraer’s toolbox the KC-390 is likely to be a very competent airplane.

Embraer will soon freeze the design of its first purpose-built military transport, the KC-390, for tactical missions. Although the first flight is planned for 2014, some details remain sketchy. But at least the program seems well funded, with the Brazilian government providing most of the $2.2 billion needed for development.

The KC-390’s tanker capability is based on the installation of two removable internal fuel tanks. The aircraft will also be capable of being refueled in flight.-----------Surprisingly, Aguiar did not want to give indications on the range. “This is premature,” he said. Preliminary data Embraer released in 2010 showed that range, with a 52,000-pound payload, would be close to 1,400 nm.

São José dos Campos, September 5, 2012 – The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) and Embraer Defense and Security concluded, in August, the preliminary design review of the military transport jet aircraft KC-390 development project. The contractual event, one of the program’s relevant milestones, took place at Embraer facilities in Eugênio de Melo, from August 20th to 29th.Throughout the event, Embraer presented to the Air Force Command the technical characteristics of the project’s solutions adopted for structural and aircraft systems, including the definitions of the main components and their interfaces, demonstrating that the project has reached its expected maturity at the current phase.“We are quite pleased with the results and we are sure that the project is on the right track”, said Colonel-Engineer Sergio Carneiro, Project KC-390 Manager at FAB. “We checked all the main aspects of the aircraft’s project and the KC-390 meets the Brazilian Air Force’s expectations.”.As part of the project design review, an evaluation of the cockpit’s ergonomics was also performed, with the participation of Air Force Command military personnel, featuring 1st Lieutenant-Aviator Joyce de Souza Conceição, of the 1st/1st Transport Group. Lieutenant-Aviator Joyce de Souza is the first woman pilot to evaluate the KC-390’s cockpit.“The discussions with the Air Force were very productive and we are pleased with the result of this work”, said Paulo Gastão Silva, Director of the KC-390 Program at Embraer. “We have a very qualified and motivated team on this project and we will keep working hard to satisfy our customer.”The next major contractual event will be the project’s critical design review, when the project’s maturity will be verified for prototype manufacturing.Equipped with the most advanced mission and flight systems, the KC-390 is the largest aircraft ever built by the Brazilian aircraft industry and will establish a new standard for mid-sized military transport aircraft, in terms of performance and load capacity.

Embraer says that it has successfully completed a critical design review (CDR) for its KC-390 tactical transport and tanker aircraft in conjunction with the Brazilian air force. The review was completed on 22 March, the company says. "We have concluded an important stage of the KC-390 programme and, therefore, we gave an accounting to the FAB [Brazilian air force] of the work done. We will now begin the production phase of the prototypes," says Luiz Carlos Aguiar, president and chief executive officer of Embraer's defence unit.Completion of the CDR means that Embraer can start building the first KC-390 because the aircraft's aerodynamic and structural configuration are now set. Additionally, the aircraft's avionics architecture and systems installations have also been finalized. Manufacture of the prototype "will soon begin and all of the activities of the project are focused on taking the first flight in the second half of 2014," Embraer says. The KC-390 is the largest airplane ever conceived and built by Brazil, and Embraer hopes it will compete head-to-head against the Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules on the international market.

After flirting through a technical relationship for more than a year, Embraer and Boeing have taken the next step in their KC-390 tanker/transport relationship.U.S. aerospace giant Boeing has signed on to market the Brazilian aircraft in selected areas, expanding on a technical agreement signed in the spring of 2012.Boeing will lead sales, marketing, training and sustainment of the KC-390 in the Untied States, United Kingdom and two unmanned Middle East countries. The pair announced their agreement June 18 at the Paris Air Show, and they are eyeing what they hope will be a dwindling appetite for C-130Js in years to come. Chris Raymond, vice president of business development for Boeing Defense, Space and Security, said the deal is focused only on the KC-390 and is not intended to influence the protracted source selection underway by the Brazilian government on a new fighter. Boeing's F/A-18E/F has been on offer there for years. The KC-390 market was previously expected to be about 700 aircraft, says Luiz Aguiar, president and CEO of Embraer’s defense segment. He did not say how many more orders he projects Boeing can bring to the table. The Pentagon, the largest single defense market on the globe, does not have a requirement for a smaller airlifter; it has been wedded for decades to the C-130 family, made by Lockheed Martin. Critical design review for the airlifter is set for next month. The first order is expected to be announced in the first quarter of next year. Two KC-390 prototypes are set to roll out later this year.